A new documentary reveals the secret history behind America's favorite takeout dish, General Tso's chickenFilm still

General Tso’s chicken, a sticky, sweet Chinese fried chicken dish often served with broccoli and sprinkled with scallions, is a favorite on Chinese restaurant menus across America.

But little is known about it, including who General Tso really was, why his chicken became so popular, and just what he had to do with the dish.

A new documentary, “The Search for General Tso,” answers all these questions and more.

Here, five things we learned from the film, which comes to theaters and VOD on Friday, about the beloved dish.

1. General Tso was real — and he was a badass.
General Zuo Zongtang (known as Tso in the West) was a ruthless warrior in the 19th-century Qing Dynasty who helped create modern-day China by defeating the Taiping Rebellion.

2. But his namesake dish wasn’t invented until after his death.

The 5th great grandson of General Tso discusses his relative’s namesake dish.Ian Cheney

General Tso’s chicken was invented in Taipei in 1955 by a renowned Hunanese chef named Peng Chang-kuei who was asked to prepare a special meal for Chinese leader Chiang Kai-shek. He created a chicken dish with a hot and sour sauce and named it after General Tso, who was one of the Hunan province’s favored sons, and was said to have enjoyed poultry.

3. General Tso’s chicken came to New York City in the 1970s, and quickly became unrecognizable.

Chef T.T. Wang began serving the dish at New York’s Shun Lee Palace in 1972. Wang made it sweeter to accommodate American tastes. The dish was a hit, and quickly spread across America. It became so popular, in fact, that Shun Lee took it off the menu in the ’80s, because, according to owner Michael Tong, “Ten thousand restaurants were using it — there was no point anymore.”

4. And the inventor is also not a fan.

In the film, Chef Peng, now in his 90s, is shown pictures of American versions of his dish, and is asked how they make him feel. “I don’t feel good,” he says, noting that broccoli and scallions have no place in his creation. “There are a lot of Americans who can’t accept our authentic Chinese food. This is all crazy nonsense.”

5. General Tso would have hated his namesake dish as we know it.

The great warrior was passionate about keeping Western influence out of China. Combine that with the Hunanese distaste for mixing sweet and savory foods, and he surely would have despised the Americanized version of the dish we know today.